Spotlight PR brings quality public relations assistance into reach for mission-driven causes as well as socially conscious entrepreneurs, celebrities and executives.

Author: Brian Loebig

Spotlight PR LLC Celebrates New Clintonville Office with Open House

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Spotlight PR LLC, a crisis communications firm, recently held an open house at its new office location, 4041 N High Street, Suite 204. The company previously had a small workspace in Westerville, and is now firmly rooted in Clintonville. The firm works with leaders and organizations to help them develop their platforms and protect their brands.
 
Founded in 2016 in Northern Virginia by Jennifer R. Farmer, Farmer relocated the business to Ohio, where she is from, in 2020. The firm specializes in public relations with an emphasis on crisis management, publicity, ghostwriting and PR Coaching. It also offers a host of resources such as workshops, videos and blogs to help clients communicate more effectively and navigate a host of public relations issues.
 
“I founded Spotlight PR because I wanted to build a culturally competent public relations firm that would support good people in the important work they were leading,” said Farmer, aka “The PR Whisperer®.” “I am excited about the opportunity to support those on the frontlines of movements for racial and social justice.”
 
Farmer has more than 22 years’ experience in strategic communications and politics. She has worked with some of the biggest names in the racial and social justice space including the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II of Repairers of the Breach, Pastor Michael McBride of LiveFree, former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner, and Grammy Award Winning rapper Michael Render, pka Killer Mike.
 
Current and former clients of Spotlight PR include CLLCTIVLY, the Decolonizing Wealth Project, the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, Florida Rising, the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, Race Forward, the Raising Child Care Fund, The Heart Nest Center, United Women in Faith, and more.
 
“We are excited to close out the year in our new office and anticipate what is to come in 2025 and beyond,” Farmer said.
 
Visit Spotlight PR’s contact us page to learn more.

Race Forward Welcomes Karla Bruce as Chief of Staff

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Race Forward, one of the nation’s largest racial equity organizations, announced today that Karla Bruce, former Chief Equity Officer for Fairfax County, Virginia, has joined the organization as its chief of staff. In this role, Bruce will maximize alignment across the organization to support racial equity, provide strategic counsel and guidance to the president and executive leadership team, and serve as a liaison with internal and external stakeholders. 

“We are excited to have Karla join the Race Forward team,” said Glenn Harris, President of Race Forward. “She is a proven leader with over 25 years of government management experience. She built the infrastructure to support Fairfax County’s equity planning and decision making. As an organization committed to partnering with both communities and government to advance racial equity, we are excited to have a chief of staff who understands in theory and practice how to drive change.”

Bruce’s appointment as the Chief Equity Officer for Fairfax County, Virginia in June 2018 was historic. She became the first local government, equity- focused senior leader in the jurisdiction, the first in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the first in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area. 

An accomplished innovator in public service delivery, Bruce successfully bridged the efforts of local government with the collective action of residents and broad networks of partners. During her tenure with Fairfax County, she led the process to adopt the One Fairfax Racial and Social Equity Resolution and Policy. Bruce’s career has earned her numerous accolades across the many sectors with which she has worked, including government, nonprofit, philanthropy, faith, and corporate, and she is a nationally recognized thought leader on the role of government in advancing equity. 

“I am thrilled to join Race Forward after years of working alongside the organization as a partner,” Bruce said. “At this critical moment in our nation, I am particularly excited to be leading the  implementation of our new Strategic Plan which focuses on community and government collaboration to create pathways for equity and inclusion as we continue to work toward building a multiracial democracy.”

“With ongoing attacks on racial equity and democracy, our movement needs leaders who are skilled in and passionate about advancing racial equity,” Harris said. “Karla is such a leader and we are delighted to have her onboard.”
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Rev. Al Sharpton Brings Voting Message to Ohio State

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Political, civil rights, social justice activist and MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton made his argument for Ohio State students and Ohio residents to vote at a pre-election event held Wednesday at the school’s Fawcett Center.
 
U.S. Rep Joyce Beatty, Jesse Jackson, Jesse Jackson Jr., exonerated Central Park Five members joined Sharpton
Special guests U.S. Rep Joyce Beatty, Jesse Jackson Jr. along with exonerated Central Park Five members Yusef Salaam and Korey Wise echoed Sharpton’s message of justice, civil rights, and the power of the vote.
Salaam, Wise and three others were wrongfully accused of the 1989 rape and assault of a Central Park jogger.
Jesse Jackson and family members of Coretta Scott King also attended the event.
“You can’t be a strong tree if you don’t know the roots,” Sharpton said as he detailed the history of the racial and social justice struggle throughout U.S. history. “The only people in America that don’t celebrate their history are people that have been given a slave mentality. The first thing they had to do with the slaves was cut them off from history, took their names, and took the culture because if you were connected to your history, you would know you were not born to be slaves.
“Someone with common sense will embrace their roots. So that’s why we’re here today to tell you to reconnect to the roots.”
 
‘If you don’t vote, you are telling us who you are’
The event was non-partisan, but Sharpton said the choice was clear in November’s race for U.S. President between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
“Whether you vote or not and who you vote for doesn’t define Kamala (Harris) or (Donald) Trump, it defines you,” he said. “If you don’t vote, you are telling us who you are. If you vote wrong, you are telling us who you are.”
Spotlight PR is a public relations consultancy supporting leaders and organizations advancing justice including Ohio Organizing Collaborative, which builds transformative relational power with everyday Ohioans for statewide social, racial, and economic justice.
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Chris Pugh is the Media Relations Manager for Spotlight PR.

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